Meeting of the Parliament 11 February 2026 [Draft]
I am delighted to speak in the debate and to add my whole-hearted support for the nature champions initiative.
The current session of Parliament began in a strange and distant time when we were all still socially distancing and still working out how to be together. The first nature champions meeting of the session was online, but many of us were there, and, even through a screen, it brought us together with a shared sense of purpose. With the way that we were introduced to the initiative, it felt like, “Well—an MSP? Of course you would be a champion!” It reminded me then, as it does now, that nature connects us all.
I was given the Eurasian beaver and the aspen, which is one of the beaver’s favourite trees to dine on. I love the evolution of the initiative in recognising that species do not exist in isolation. The beaver needs the aspen and other trees, and bodies of water. In turn, beavers restore wetlands, slow the flow and help to alleviate flooding. Together, they form part of a living web—an ecosystem— that ultimately supports us.
Being the champion for the beaver and the aspen has enabled me to forge numerous connections. With the Scottish Wildlife Trust, I visited Knapdale, where the first beaver reintroduction trials began in 2009. I had actually been there in 2010, and it was a privilege to return and see how beavers had transformed the landscape. There was more water, more life and more diversity, which reminded me that the initiative is about seeing not just the species, but its impact.
On another occasion, I witnessed the team at the Argyll Beaver Centre, and their tremendous enthusiasm in engaging so many visitors in the wonder of beavers, helping people to understand why beavers matter and—going back to Douglas Ross’s point—to contribute to the local economy.
Since then, beaver translocations in Scotland have opened up and beavers are flourishing, but we must ensure that those that are facing lethal control measures are moved to safety. I give the Beaver Trust my great thanks for its vital work in that regard, alongside support from the Scottish Wild Beaver Group and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland.
I have loved hearing colleagues across the chamber delight in their species, from the freshwater pearl mussel to the red squirrel. With one in nine species at risk of national extinction, the nature champions initiative truly matters, so I extend my thanks to Scottish Environment LINK for conceiving of the idea and creating this wonderful forum for us to come together.
Perhaps the next step is a debate in the chamber in which we are not talking about our species, but speaking from the perspective of our species and interacting with each other. There may be a humorous moment with one eating another, and things like that. Let us get that conversation going, because when we champion nature, we champion Scotland’s future.